Has Hell No Fury?
by Just-Me-and-My-Brain
Summary: She had never had a living friend before. He wasn't sure what to think of her. Nobody had heard of her before, living forever in her family's shadow. They all wanted to give her the help that she had never asked for. She wanted things to go back to the way it had been... and that would never be possible.
1. Prologue

**Chapter 1: Prologue**

* * *

It was turning into a late night for Death the Kid.

He couldn't get his pajama pants to line up symmetrically.

He shuffled his PJ's for yet another time, hoping they'd fall into perfection so he could sleep.

_Nope. Still not right._ He sighed in mild frustration. He was beginning to think that maybe it would be better to sleep without them for a night, it was a moderately hot night after all; summer just beginning to wind down.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" A young girl's voice from outside his open window caught his attention and, forgetting his pant problem for a moment, went to the previously mentioned opening to investigate.

Standing in the middle of the street were two people, a tall man with a long black beard and greasy black hair to match, and a young girl (about Kid's age, he assumed) with a figureless form and mussed black hair.

"Come on, Makaria. I believe the school is this way." The man stared at a heavily folded map and began walking towards the school, the girl following obediently after him.

Kid felt a spark of curiosity flicker into his chest and, with surprising quickness, changed into a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt and left his house to follow after the curious pair.

Death the Kid had a right to be curious, you should know. It was a few weeks after the start of school and all the new students should have already showed up. So this girl, who he assumed to be a student, was quite out of place. Especially showing up in the middle of the night.

"I don't see why I have to do this." Kid heard the girl speak for the second time that night, her voice fairly deep for a girl's and sounding cross.

"You're a meister… according to Death." The man answered with a gentle voice. "And… this might be a good place for you to meet some friends."

"But I don't want any friends." The girl argued.

"A girl your age _should_ want friends." The pair had reached the abnormally large staircase to the school and started climbing, abet hesitantly, glancing at the map first to make sure they were on track so they didn't dispel any energy that wasn't needed.

"You didn't have friends when you were my age." The girl sounded sulky as Kid climbed after them, still unnoticed by the pair.

"I was… different." The man replied. "Besides, I have brothers."

"So?" The girl sounded more cross. "I have Rhadamanthus and Minos! I don't need anyone else." They reached the top of the stairs and crossed the courtyard.

"My dear, they're older than you… and technically dead. You need to meet some people your age… who are living." The man stopped to open the door for them and walked in after the girl, still ignorant to the boy trailing after them.

Kid tried to ignore the oddness of the two's conversation and waited a few seconds before continuing inside.

"That sign said that Death's room is down this hall." Kid breathed a sigh of relief that he wasn't spotted and walked behind the pair; still having no answers about whom they were or… anything else, for that matter.

They eventually reached the end of the hall and the man reached for the door handle.

"Dad, wait." The girl spoke out once more. "Isn't it funny?"

"What?" The man looked down at his daughter.

"Think about it, we're at deaths door." The girl's voice told Kid that she was smiling at her own joke.

"Oh Gods." The man pinched the bridge of his nose in the low light and opened the door. Kid, however, could see that the man was in fact now wearing a small smile while he shook his head and put his arm around the girl's shoulder. "You really need to stop trying to be funny. You have some terrible jokes, my dear."

The last thing Kid heard from his position behind a corner was the girl laughing at her father's berating. Knowing that he wouldn't have to follow them inside to hear the conversation, Kid leaned his ear against the door and listened. He momentarily asked himself what he was doing, this wasn't like him; sneaking around and eaves-dropping. But just as he prepared himself to go, voices started talking, and he was glued to the door.

"Hello! Hello! Hello!" He heard his father's high-pitched voice start up. "Welcome!"

"Death." The mystery man replied formally, creating a slight pause in conversation.

"So, _this_ is Makaria!" Lord Death's high voice seemed pleased. "It's nice to finally meet you, dear."

There was no reply. Kid could feel the tension starting to pulse in the air.

"Makaria, be polite." The father figure scolded lightly.

"Thank you… it's nice to meet you as well." The girl sighed deeply at the end of her sentence.

Another pause. The tension seemed to have dissipated.

"Did you want to start her in school now?" Death questioned.

"As soon as possible, as I said before." The unknown male spoke with authority. "And preferably with kids her own age, although we would understand if you need to start her out with a younger group."

"_Dad_!" A whine came through the door, hinting at embarrassment with undertones of annoyance.

"Oh, don't worry. There are plenty of children here that are her own age." Lord Death reassured. "In fact…" His voice trailed off.

Silence.

The doors suddenly opened up, causing Kid to stumble forwards with a cry of surprise and trip over himself.

"Here's my son." Lord Death gestured proudly before it clicked that something was wrong with that picture and did a double take at the child next to him. "Kiddo, what are you doing here?"

"I…" Kid had no response but felt the heat rising to his cheeks in the embarrassment and shame of being caught. He searched his mind for an answer and in the process looked past his father and saw the guest's faces for the first time.

Both had skin that had obviously not felt daylight in a long time. Both had shockingly bright gray eyes, verging on white. And both brushed their hair from their eyes similarly before it quickly retook its spot draped over their white-gray orbs.

Beyond that, they bore little resemblance.

The girl was thin and figureless; the man was broad-shouldered with a matching broad chest. The girl wasn't petite, exactly, just awkwardly thin. The man, again, was anything but small in any way. The girl stood in a shyer position; her father stood proud and strong. The girl had a small nose, lips that were neither daintily thin nor plump, and a generally thin face; her dad had a large (slightly crooked) nose, thin lips, and his face structure beyond that was generally unseeable under his thick black beard. Kid also noticed now that, while the man's hair was black, the girl had dark brown hair instead.

If he hadn't heard the girl call the man "father", he wouldn't have guessed they were related apart from their eyes.

"Off to bed." Lord Death's words distracted him from his study, the black cloak rustling as the grim reaper bounced in front of his line of sight and picked Death the Kid up gently, dusting him off with the oversized white glove and turning him around with a little nudge to give him momentum.

"I'll see ya tomorrow, Kiddo." Kid's father waved goodbye before quietly shutting the door (after being sure to watch his child walk down the hall with no obvious intent of coming back) and bouncing back onto the stage.

"Now then," Death clapped his hands together. "How about I start her next week on Monday? That'll give me time to help her find an apartment and let her explore the town a little."

Makaria's dad nodded in agreement.

"Dad?" The girl looked up, feeling nauseous with fear and pleading with her father. "Do I have to do this?"

The man sighed. "We've been through this before. Your mother and I think it's for the best."

"But what about what _I_ feel?" The girl looked between the two taller men, silently begging one of them to take her side. "Don't _I_ get a say in this?"

"You've already said _plenty_." Her father pinched the bridge of his nose before resorting to rubbing his temple, trying to massage away the headache that was threatening to make itself a reality.

"But!"

"_No buts_. You're going to this school whether you like it or not." The man forced out, obviously hating to force his hand but not having much choice.

The girl pouted angrily but didn't argue back.

"Alright?" Lord Death popped back into the conversation with a small bounce. "And you can stay here for the night, dear."

Makaria opened her mouth to argue about these sleeping arrangements but, upon seeing that the grim reaper had already fashioned a bed off to one side of the stage with a canopy that blocked out the light, shut it back up with a sigh and a locking of her jaw.

"See? Everything's taken care of." Makaria's dad smiled and clapped her on the back.

The girl rolled her eyes and scowled as she shook her head.

"Well, I best be getting out of your hair." The man nodded to himself and gave his daughter a quick and rather awkward kiss on the top of her head before turning to leave.

With the snap of his fingers as he descended the steps of the stage, a dark hole opened up in front of him, the hole seeming to neither suck the light from the room nor project shadows outwards- it just was.

"I'll talk with you later to check on how Makaria is doing." The man bowed stiffly. "Lord Death."

"I await your call." Lord Death returned the bow. "Hades."

Together the grim reaper and young girl watched the god jump into the hole and be swallowed up by it, the pit closing as quickly as it had appeared and leaving no trace that it had ever been there.

The girl sighed with the finality of the act, unsure of what would happen next.

* * *

_Authors Note: This is a "rewrite" of my first fanfiction, Silence. I say "rewrite" because I'm changing so many things; my OC in Silence was a Mary Sue of ultimate proportions, so I've developed an entirely new character to fit the bill. _

_If any of you are familiar with Silence... I'm so sorry. But, if you are familiar, you should know that even much of the storyline has been changed. This story will only _roughly_ follow that plot. If you are not familiar, that is perfectly fine; you don't need to be. _

_Thank you again for your attention and views._

_Much Love,_

_Author_


	2. New Kid on the Block

**Chapter 2: New Kid on the Block**

* * *

It had been a week since Kid saw the pair of mysterious people… well, that wasn't entirely true. He had seen the girl once or twice around town, going from store to store to investigate their inventory or waltzing around the streets of the town from top to bottom; no alley, side street, or main avenue left unexplored.

He had thought about approaching her but decided against it. She had seen him too- he knew because whenever she looked at him, he could feel those piercing white-gray eyes boring into him. If she really wanted to talk to him, she would approach him herself.

Still, even giving her description out to Maka and Blackstar, neither of them had reported seeing her out and about. They seemed bummed about this too- both excited by the prospect of having a new student. And it didn't take long for news to spread that there was indeed a new character in town that would be joining the DWMA.

"So, class," Professor Stein addressed the class, scanning for a certain person and sighing to himself when he didn't find them. "We have a new student joining us… who is late."

The majority of the class was silent, taking in the fact that the much talked about student would actually be here today, everyone hoping that they would be interesting and fun. A few students decided that this was the time to snicker, laughing at the fact that this new student wasn't even here and had already screwed up their first day.

"What's their name?" A student suddenly broke the quiet, the room reverting to a silence that built in the room as everyone waited for an answer.

"I'm sure she can tell you when she comes." Stein answered politely, annoyed by the student's lack of hand-raising but willing to forgive it once, marking it off as excitement.

The class noise level rose to a low murmur as students either got excited or disappointed in the fact that it was indeed a girl joining the class.

"How old is she?" The same student blurted out. The class again returned to silence.

A knife thumped and vibrated in the wood a few inches from the boy's head, a startled intake of breath coming from everyone.

"Stop talking without raising your hand or next time I won't miss." Stein's glasses flashed in the light.

A light knock on the door triggered everyone to turn their heads towards the door, another simultaneous intake of breath (this one in anticipation), was the only thing that broke the silence.

"Yes?" Stein remained unmoving from his rolling chair on the stage in front of the classroom but waited just the same as the students.

The door cracked open and an unfamiliar girl slid awkwardly into the classroom.

"Umm… hi." The girl's voice was quiet and low. "I'm Makaria. I was told that… I was in this class…?" She scanned the class; all eyes focused on her, and then focused her attention back on the adult at the front of the classroom.

Kid sat up a little straighter, recognizing the girl as the one from last week. She looked no different, aside from her outfit.

She had on her black slacks and a white polo shirt on, simple black boots blending with the slacks and making her legs look longer than they were.

The shirt was baggy. From her size, he assumed it was a small size, but it fit her as if she were wearing a medium.

The white of the shirt only seemed to draw more color from her blank eyes, the incredibly pale gray with shockingly black pupil showing for a few seconds as she tried to brush her curly, shoulder-length, dark brown hair out of her face- the hair falling back into place seconds later, much to her annoyance.

Whispers were already going around.

Stein stared at the girl for a moment before flashing a smile that bordered on insane. "Yes, welcome."

Makaria smiled weakly and lowered her gaze to the floor.

"You can sit next to Kid until I find you a better seat. He's the one on the fourth level. He has desk eight. You can take desk seven." Stein gestured to Kid in the middle row, the girl's face showing a flash of recognition.

"Now, if you please. I have a class to teach." Stein prompted her, a bout of giggles from the class showering down on her and making her more nervous as she ascended the steps towards Kid.

Kid felt his heart start to thump, pounding as if to break away from his chest entirely. The blood rushing through his ears louder and louder with each step closer she got. _What do I say? What do I do? Ugh, why am I so useless sometimes? A complete idiot._

He froze as she sat down awkwardly next to him, offering nothing in the lines of greetings.

"Hello." He watched her slowly pull out a black notebook and ballpoint pen.

The girl's eyes snapped over to meet his, eyes peering through her hair and into his soul as if to see if he was trying to be polite or not. He noticed in this moment that the eyes were not quite as white as he thought, having trace amounts of silver in them. It was as if the eye color was the diluted and faded remnants of pale silver and as an afterthought the creator of them had thrown in some slightly darker silver around the pupil and scattered throughout the iris to add some semblance of color.

After a moment of staring she offered him a small smile and nod of acknowledgement. She quickly turned her attention back to class and opened her notebook, clicking her ballpoint pen to start writing what the teacher was scribbling down on the board, absentmindedly brushing her hair out of her face every few minutes.

Kid felt successful as he had been able to gather a small smile from the girl but still felt a chill run though him at the thought of her pale eyes looking into him.

The lunch bell finally rang after three long hours of _The Science behind Meister/Weapon Interactions, History of Magic and Meisters, _and_ Calculations for Battle_.

Kid waited patiently for Makaria to wrestle her sack lunch from the confines of her backpack, brush her hair aside, and make her way out of the aisle before he smoothly grabbed his own lunch, walked quickly after her to catch up and was just about to strike up a conversation with her as they reached the doorway when-

"Hi, I'm Blackstar!" A force hit Kid like a train, sending him tumbling into a chemistry set.

"I bet'cha've' heard of me, huh? Well, since you're new here and all, I'll be nice and give you my autograph." Blackstar's smile seemed to encompass most of his face, the self-centered egomaniac beaming at the surprised girl in front of him.

Kid watched her and noticed her struggling inwardly. She kept glancing nervously from Blackstar to Kid and back again, not sure what to make of what just happened.

_Do I help him? That would be the polite thing to do… but this kid just pushed him over… what if he pushes me over for helping him?_ Makaria's lips drew into a fine line, teeth biting the right side of her lower lip in thought.

"Hey!" Blackstar snapped her out of her thoughts, causing her chilling gray eyes to look at him and make him pause. "Do you want my autograph or not?"

The girl looked him over once more before brushing her hair away and answering just loud enough to hear over the roar in the hall. "No."

Blackstar looked at her with raised eyebrows, forever being shocked by people who said they didn't want the autograph of the great Blackstar.

"Whatever." He scoffed, folded his hands behind his head and turned his back on her, walking out the doorway. "You're too creepy anyway. Your eyes are freaky."

Makaria frowned and stared after him for a few seconds before turning on Kid and watching him pick himself out of the glass vials (of which none were broken, save one that tipped out and shattered away from Kid.) and fallen wooden stand.

"Don't mind him. He's just… well… he's just Blackstar." Kid straightened out his suit and picked up his lunch, scowling at the asymmetrical wrinkles in the brown paper.

"Hmm…" The girl nodded in understanding… or, at least, acceptance, and turned away to head into the throng of people.

"Hey! Wait!" Kid shouted, getting her attention and making her stop in the middle of the hallway. She watched him expectantly and waited for him to catch up. "Do you know where to go?" They started down the hallway.

"More or less. Someone showed me earlier… so I sorta have an idea of where I'm going." She kept his pace as they traveled down the long hallway passing door after door. It was passing one of these doors that Kid realized he had yet to formally introduce himself.

"I'm Death the Kid, by the way." Kid switched his lunch sack to his left hand and held his right across his body to shake her hand, hoping she did so quickly, as the asymmetry of his position was killing him. "Nice to meet you."

"Yeah, you too." Makaria shook his hand hesitantly, bringing it up immediately afterwards to swat at her hair. "I'm Makaria."

"No last name?" Kid asked innocently, not realizing till afterward that she possibly didn't want to share that information.

Instead of a shy or nervous shrug, he found himself at the end of one of her stares. This one didn't seem to be as much about decision making as it did about her trying to figure him out though, as if what he'd just asked made no sense. Still, it made him anxious to have those eyes on him.

"Yes, well, here we are." Kid motioned to the large cafeteria, eager to get her eyes off of him.

Makaria nodded at the room, jerking her head to the side in a new attempt to keep her hair away, only succeeding in pushing more of it into her face. (Not that Kid could feel bad for her predicament necessarily- anything to block her eyes was a blessing.)

"Do you want to sit with my friends and me?" Kid felt compelled to make her at least feel welcome and motioned to a large round table off to the right where a few people sat and chatted.

"Yeah, sure." She offered a small thankful smile and followed his lead to the lunch table.

"Hi!" Maka was the first to greet when the pair came over, closely followed by Tsubaki and the twins. Soul brought up the rear and Blackstar just stared at her for a second before crossing his arms and muttering angrily.

"You can sit next to me." Maka scooted over a little bit, smashing Soul between Tsubaki and herself in an effort to make enough room for the girl.

"Thank you." Makaria smiled her small smile and sat down awkwardly, not used to being around so many people. Well, so many _living_ people.

She focused on unpacking her lunch and only after hearing her name did she realize that the boy with black and white striped hair was talking about her.

"Her name is Makaria. This is the girl I was telling you about." Kid glanced at her when he noticed her eyes staring at him, smiling to acknowledge her stare.

"It's nice to meet you." Chorused from around the table (except for the pouting Blackstar).

"Nice to meet you too." Makaria spoke softly before nervously biting into her turkey and cheese sandwich.

"So what brought you here?" Maka chimed, curious about the student.

"My… um… my dad brought me here." The girl's eyes flickered around her area of the table, trying to keep her eyes from meeting anyone's.

"Are you a meister or a weapon?" Patty added to the conversation, absentmindedly tossing another animal cracker into her mouth.

"I, uh… Lord Death says I'm a meister." She answered in the same hesitant and awkward voice, as if even simple questions were beyond her normal interaction with people.

A reply of "Ahs" and "Oohs" along with some head bobbing came from everyone who was involved with the conversation.

"So where's your weapon?" Soul was the next to ask a question.

"A weapon?" The girl's hair was brushed away from her eyes unconsciously and the group stared at the white-ish, light silver color with surprise; the young teens having heard from Kid the account of the color of her eyes but never actually understanding how pale they were.

"Y-yeah." Soul kept staring into her eyes until she broke eye contact, a chill riding up his spine at the feeling he got from her. He didn't like it.

"A weapon is someone like Soul or Tsubaki." Maka motioned to the people individually. "Or Liz and Patty; they can transform into a weapon and we, as meisters, wield them to fight off kishen eggs."

"Oh, no. No, I don't have a weapon." Makaria stared at her sandwich shyly, not brushing her hair away when it fell in front of her eyes this time.

"Then why are you here?" Blackstar scoffed, glaring at her with an arrogant smile. "If you don't have a weapon or anything; why are you in our class?"

"I donno…" Makaria shrugged, eyes snapping up to glare at the blue-haired boy. "Lord Death told my parents I should come here. Take it up with him."

Blackstar opened his mouth to make a rebuttal and quickly shut it again, knowing that to challenge Death wasn't exactly the smartest idea for the world's best assassin and that his goodie-two-shoes son may not be opposed to ratting on him if he said anything.

"Do your parents live around here?" Tsubaki asked, waiting a minute to let the girl get a few bites into her sandwich before prompting her with more questions.

"No." Makaria gazed at the table thoughtfully before taking another bite of her sandwich, deciding not to elaborate at all.

"Oh." Tsubaki looked back down at her meal and shifted her gaze to the left to watch her meister scarf down his food loudly.

"I'm, uh, I'm gonna go." The new student stood slowly and collected what was left of her lunch (a juice box and a cookie), shoved them back into the brown paper sack and shuffled away from the table, shoulders slouched and head low, as if to make herself smaller.

She turned at the last moment, body erecting itself and head snapping up as if she had been slapped, glancing at the group through her hair. They seemed to be waiting in baited silence to hear what she wanted.

"It was… nice to meet you all." The corner of her mouth twitched for a second, flashing an awkward and strange half smile at the group before she turned back around and walked swiftly from the room.

They watched her go and remained silent until after she was out of the room.

"She's weird." Liz stated bluntly, never being someone to hold back her thoughts.

"Yeah." "Sorta." "Yeah, a bit." The murmurs came from around the table as they thought about the new student.

"What kind of meister doesn't have a weapon?" Blackstar brought the subject up again.

"The kind that just haven't found one yet." Maka argued back, glaring lightly at him.

"Yeah, well, she still gives me the creeps. Those eyes, man, they stare right into you." Blackstar shrugged and folded his hands behind his head.

Another round of agreeing mutterings were not withheld from this statement as everyone had felt a chill under her stare.

Eventually conversation faded back to their normal topics of soul-collections and missions and stayed that way until the end of the lunch period.

"Still, she seems to be trying." Maka threw out to the gang as they stood collectively from the table. "She isn't that bad."

"No. I guess she isn't." Kid replied with a shrug, getting a few nods in agreement although they could still collectively agree that she was odder than the other students.

* * *

_Authors Note:_

_ Just to let you guys know; Makaria's name is pronounced (Ma-Carrie-ah). _

_Yeah- it's spelled a little weird... but what can I say? The Greeks were strange like that.  
_


	3. Fight Club

**Chapter 3: Fight Club**

* * *

When the end-of-lunch bell rang, students slowly filed into the Class Crescent Moon, the echoes of slamming lockers and loud chatter and laughter following the students inside.

When Kid got into the classroom, he glanced toward his seat to see the new student already there, toying with her empty juice box absentmindedly and chewing on the straw.

As the beginning of the period drew nearer, students flowed in faster and faster until the few who couldn't make it in time hung their heads in shame and walked past the glaring professor.

Kid studied the board and read '_Combat Level Test_' in Stein's tight and narrow handwriting. He had heard about this, but had never participated as this was his first year at the school. He remembered from he-said-she-said accounts that it was a difficult test that was designed to test how well you were at combat and how well you worked together with your weapon.

The conversations from lunch had carried into the classroom and quickly raised the level of volume to that of the cafeteria.

"_Quiet_!" Stein's commanding voice caused everyone to freeze, even the kids who had been wrestling their notebooks from the confines of their stuffed backpacks stopped what they were doing and sat up to stare at the professor. The classroom echoed with silence, the sound of breathing even absent from among the rows of desks.

Stein nodded with approval. "Now, this afternoon I will be testing each of you on your fighting skills. This test focuses more heavily on defense than offence, so those who don't know much about fighting can still participate. These tests should only be a few minutes each." He twisted the screw in his head until it clicked a few times and then looked back up into the class. "Your opponent will be me. This ensures a relatively nonbiased fight with fewer independent variables. Also, you should all be finished by the end of the day, so you will not need your backpacks or purses."

Franken Stein looked around the room, enjoying the fear swimming in some of the student's eyes.

"We will be going outside to the center courtyard for this, so let's not waste any more time." Stein pushed himself off the stage in his rolling chair and soared backwards over the tiles toward the open door. Catching the door frame, he felt the chair suddenly tilt out of balance and tumble into the hall. Righting the swivel chair, he wheeled himself down the hallway, leading the parade of students towards the outdoors.

One by one, slowly but surely, everyone rose from their desks and shuffled out of their aisles. They met up with their weapons on the stairs or on the floor before exiting the classroom, each quietly trying to discuss fight strategies. This was obviously difficult for the majority of them as none of them had actually ever fought Stein before or had even seen him fight.

Because of this, Maka and Soul were too focused on their plans to notice that Kid was simply standing at the bottom of the staircase with his weapons. This is the case with Blackstar and Tsubaki as well, not noticing Kid.

Liz and Patty stood on either side of Kid, watching with bored confusion as the class left them behind and their meister continued to not move.

"Uh, Kid?" Liz looked down on the fourteen-year-old from her position in front of the staircase, wondering if he simply forgot to follow everyone else.

She then heard someone shuffling behind her and she turned to look, jumping a little and feeling a chill trickle down her back as she came within inches of a pair of shockingly white eyes.

Makaria flinched as well, reacting to Liz's yelp and jump with one of her own.

"I figured that you could use someone to show you how to get to the courtyard." Kid smiled warmly but avoided her eyes, looking instead at her forehead.

Makaria nodded and returned a small smile. "Thank you."

Kid nodded and turned, leading the way into the empty and quiet hallway.

"So… your name's Makaria… right?" Patty saddled up next to the girl, staring at her intently.

"Y-yeah." She leaned away from the girl and brought her arm up in a defensive stance while still walking, obviously not used to physical contact or being close to people.

_She's quite strange…_ Kid frowned, watching his weapon continue to pester the new student.

"Can I give you a hug?" Patty smiled a wide, innocent smile and Makaria's face blanched in response.

"Uh, I'd rather you not." The pale female's voice sounded disturbed and awkward.

"_Please_?" Patty begged, edging in closer until the other was practically walking sideways against the lockers to avoid her.

Kid watched, finding no harm in the sport and actually finding it mildly amusing to see the teenager avoid contact in such a dramatic way. He glanced over to his left side to see if Liz was finding it just as amusing and realized suddenly that the taller weapon was actually on his right side, walking slightly behind him.

Patty was on the right. Liz was on the right. He had nobody on the left to balance his symmetry out.

"Patty! Get over here right now! I'm not symmetrical!" Kid stopped, staring at the girl with fear and frustration.

"Oh." Patty stopped chasing Makaria, distracted by her meister, and quickly did what she was asked; skipping over to stand on Kid's left side.

It looked like it was Makaria's turn to be amused, a confused but obviously humored smile lifting the corners of her mouth into a light smile.

_Alright… maybe this isn't going according to plan._ Kid sighed inwardly, ignoring her smile and walking past her to again pick up leading the others outside.

They stepped outside into the courtyard, small overhang covering the steps helping to shade the, just in time to see the end of Maka and Soul's battle, Stein landing one last kick to the petite girl before she was down on the bricks just outside of the battle ring, her scythe skittering over the bricks a few meters away.

"That was very good, Maka." Kid unexpectedly heard Sid's encouraging voice from the crowd of kids and could now see his black beanie hat over the heads of even the tallest students. "You lasted seven and a half minutes."

Maka appeared through the crowd, head hung low in shame and bruise starting to turn on her cheek. Soul followed close behind, grumbling something about Stein being annoying and his head hurting.

"Ah, Kid, I'm glad you're here." Stein's voice called him out from his place on the shallow exit steps. "You're next."

Kid felt the thoughts in his mind slowly drain out, like water out of a sink with a clogged drain. When his thoughts were gone his mind was empty and blank, leaving him standing on the steps staring at the professor with an emotionless expression.

"Kid." Stein's smile widened and Sid looked back towards him, followed by every student, waiting to see if the student would cooperate with the professor.

The young reaper felt his feet shuffle forward and before he could blink he suddenly found himself in the center of the ring, the insane professor grinning at him from only a few meaningless meters away.

His thoughts came back with a surge of adrenaline, his instincts flooding him with a distinct feeling of being aware of every little detail around him.

Liz was on his left: Patty on his right.

Sid was writing a few notes before the beginning of the test.

His classmates, worn out from fighting or high on adrenaline as they prepared to fight, all watched him intently.

The new girl, what was her name? Right, Makaria. She was still standing on the steps, hidden in the dim shadows, observing him with curiosity.

Stein stood in front of him. He had a crazed glint to his eye that caused some of Kid's nerves to fray. He was still breathing heavy from his last fight. Was this his strategy? Work from the strongest kids to the weakest so it would be easier for him to fight?

No, he doesn't need to care about that right now. He needs to focus on the task ahead.

"Ready?" Sid's voice carried over the already quiet courtyard and everyone held their breath in anticipation for the beginning.

A nod from Stein marked his agreement. Kid glanced quickly to Liz in a silent, unspoken question as to whether she was prepared or not. She was. He then paused to look at Sid one last time and caught Patty's eye in the moment. She was ready.

He nodded.

"Fight!" The last half of the word coming from Sid's mouth was drowned out under the abrupt eruption of sound that rose up around the fighters, each and every student cheering for Kid to overcome the professor.

Stein covered the short space separating them in the time it took Kid to recover from the shell-shock of noise that shook through his head.

The man's smile widened as he met Kid's eye, arm back ready to strike and hand tense.

Kid's instinct reactions kicked in as the proximity to danger drew too close for comfort. Doing a tight back-hand spring, Kid earned himself about a second.

But a second was all he needed.

Liz and Patty had flipped, synchronized as they are, as soon as they heard the voice of Sid call out the beginning of the battle. Kid caught them expertly as he recovered from his quick acrobatics, twirling them with his hands before locking his pinkies into the triggers.

Another strike towards his chest.

Kid threw himself into a back-bend, acutely aware that he should be thankful he remembered to stretch today before school, as he had no chance to do so before the test. He lifted his leg and struck out, feeling it connect with something solid and hearing a well-masked grunt before his grounded leg was suddenly out from under him.

Kid hit the ground hard on his back, legs still kicked up in the air from his attack combined with Stein's powerful leg-sweep.

Stein's eyes met his once again and the teacher didn't have to say what he was thinking for Kid to pick it up. _You're in _my_ territory now_. And he was right- Stein's combat maneuvers were all developed for close combat while guns… guns were far less so.

The stomach heaving, heart stopping pressure of the older man's electric attack pounded into his abdomen, sending a shock through both him and his surprised weapons.

"Here, have another." Stein's voice was laced with undertones of insanity.

Kid, not wanting to let the professor gain the upper hand again, lifted his arm with more speed than either of them had been expecting and tucked his gun under the man's chin before pulling the trigger without a moment's hesitation.

Stein's head snapped back with the power of the shot and the rest of his body followed with it, tilting backwards until it finally thumped against the ground.

The noise that Kid had long since tuned out came roaring back at an even louder sound than earlier, every student cheering for Kid's success.

Climbing to his feet, Kid glanced around at all the happy faces, soaking up the praise.

The faces in front of him morphed with creepy quickness into fear-riddled expressions and stared past him.

The young reaper didn't even have time to turn around all the way before Stein's soul wavelength blasted through his chest, throwing him across the ring.

Kid held on tight to his weapons, curling himself around them in an effort to protect the twins from getting damaged. He felt his body land with full weight on his hip and the momentum carrying him head over heels across the unforgiving stone, each contact with the patterned brick bringing pain to another area. Slowly he came to a stop, skidding a few extra lengths along the ground and rubbing his skin against the stone and his clothing.

"Fight; over!" He vaguely heard the sound of Sid's voice over the rushing of blood past his ear. It took a moment for him to process that nobody was cheering. "Winner; Stein."

And just like that, it was over. He had lost. _Loser. Worthless. Scum. Nothing. Disgusting. Awful. Garbage. I deserve to die._ Kid was barely aware of it when his weapons transformed and took him over their shoulders, carrying him away from the ring and back towards the stairs so he could recover.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he registered that Sid was sending him some encouraging words, "Well done, Kid. Just remember to stay aware of your surroundings next time." The man had either announced the student's time earlier and he had missed it or Sid hadn't even bothered to say it as he wanted to save Kid the embarrassment. That's just the kind of man he was.

His weapons set him gently on the steps and stood off to the side, possibly waiting to see if he was going to visibly break down or if he was going to stay as silent as he was, just a sorrowful but blank stare the only sign that he wasn't actually mentally there at the moment.

Eventually though, the twins grew distracted. Not a need at the moment for Kid, they merged back in with the crowd of students, cheering on Blackstar now as he was the next contestant.

Kid waited for someone to come and comfort him. Someone would come, surely.

Maybe Maka…?

No. Kid scanned the courtyard until he found her almost on the opposite side of the yard sitting with Soul, together in a deep conversation.

His weapons weren't here. They were off watching the fight.

Blackstar wasn't here, he was fighting. Although, Kid doubted that the boy would do anything to boost his self-esteem anyway.

He glanced around for anybody to talk with. They wouldn't even have to talk… _he_ didn't even have to talk: just someone to sit with and know that they were there for him while he felt depressed about his loss.

Death the Kid finally glanced behind him, feeling eyes on him, and realized that the new student had not moved from her position Kid had left her in.

She had seen everything.

She met his eyes silently, staring into them with curiosity. She stayed in the corner near the door, sights on him. She didn't move a muscle but seemed to slowly start growing uncomfortable under his watch, eyes occasionally darting off to the side to get a break from his intense glare.

Her eyebrows were starting to draw together in a questioning expression, as if asking him what he wanted from her.

Without a word he patted the step next to him. And without a word she moved forward and sat. Abet, farther away than anything that expressed being comfortable while close to people.

But there she sat, trying to lean away without looking like she was and playing with her hair awkwardly. And somehow it worked in making Kid feel a little better, by having someone there to give him support in no way other than existing. A tree could have given him the same amount of comfort and support, but right now he'd take it.

Blackstar had lost after six minutes. The next student had lost after five. So had the one after that… and the one after that kid had lost after four. And so the cycle went, kids who had yet to fight were getting to be fewer, the population of undefeated teens starting to dwindle.

Still, she stayed.

Occasionally he would glance at her or her at him. Every once in a while they would glance at the same time. At first, she would dart her eyes away to the opposite direction but eventually she would give him an awkward and small smile.

"Makaria." Sid's voice called out, glancing around the courtyard before spotting her sitting on the steps as far away from Kid as she could.

"Makaria." He recalled, watching her eyes come around to meet his and stare questioningly. He answered her question simply. "You're up."

Anyone who had believed that she couldn't become paler was wrong. Her face looked almost bleached white as she stared with confusion and shock at the zombie.

"Come on." He encouraged, nodding toward Stein.

The professor looked… not as bad as anyone was expecting. A few tears in his lab coat and sweat running down his forehead and front of his patchwork shirt were the only signs that he had been fighting at all.

The girl on the steps shook her head slowly as if stunned, still staring with fear at the order.

"Everyone has gone. We're letting you go last. Let's go." Sid tapped his clipboard twice and clicked his pen.

"But… I… I don't have a weapon." She argued; her voice so quiet that Kid was the only person who could hear it clearly.

"We just want to test your combat skills. You can still fight without a weapon." Sid somehow knew what she had said and started walking towards her.

Makaria shot to her feet as the zombie started towards her, hands shooting out as if to stop his approach.

"You can do it." Sid encouraged her gently. "I'd believe in you. That's just the kind of man I was."

The small girl stared at him a moment longer before nodding once and starting toward the ring.

Once over the line she looked at the teacher He wasn't smiling the way he had with Kid- he was still smiling regardless but it seemed tired; worn out. He was exhausted.

And he would still beat her.

There was no doubt.

"Are you ready?" She heard the zombie's deep voice from where he stood just outside the ring.

Her chest tightened. Her stomach decided that turning upside-down would be a good idea at that exact moment. Her head buzzed.

"Ready." The man's hand crackled with green electricity, increasing the girl's fear.

"Makaria, are you ready?" Sid prompted.

She took another look around the large brick-laid area. Everyone was watching her. Joy.

She heard the zombie clear his throat pointedly.

Without thinking, she nodded.

It wasn't until a second later she realized the full repercussions of what she did.

The punch sank into her stomach and the electricity shocked her limbs, freezing her as she flew across the arena and landed harshly on the ground.

"Ah!" She winced at the feeling of landing on her shoulder. There would be a bruise there.

Her once clean black slacks were now covered in brown, a few rips roughed the fabric up and a single large horizontal rip in the right pant leg exposed a scraped and bleeding knee. Her shirt, a once crisp white was covered in a multitude of browns that matched her pants.

She looked up to see Stein charging at her from across the courtyard. Instincts took over and she scurried to her feet and took off in the opposite direction, sprinting over the ring line and panting at her narrow escape.

A few kids chuckled, amused at the cowardice of the new student.

"Makaria, please don't run out of the ring." Sid sighed. "Restart."

Her heart dropped. _What? Back in _there_? Really?_

She felt her feet shuffle forward and follow her new professor back into the center of the ring. They stared at each other for a moment before shifting into position, Stein falling back into an attack stance while Makaria started tensing up to run.

"Hello! Hello! Hello!" The moment was ruined by the untimely arrival of Death. He bounced happily into the courtyard and waved at all the students before noticing that a fight was about to begin. He also noticed that Makaria was in the ring, staring intently at the gray-haired professor and not even noticing his arrival.

_Well, it's nice to see she's stepping up to the plate earlier then we expected._ He bounced closer to Sid and watched with curiosity, interested to see her fight.

Sid waited for a moment to see if Lord Death had anything to say, everyone pausing to watch what would happen. After several moments of silence Sid nodded as if given orders, realizing that Death was waiting for the fight to start.

"Begin." He announced, not even bothering to ask if either was ready.

Makaria took to that word like a gun firing at a starting line and backpedaled to avoid the attacker who was approaching much too quickly.

She stopped on a dime when she deemed he was too close- arm raised up to strike, and sprinted towards him, ducking under his arm swiftly and taking off as fast as her legs would carry her.

_Somewhere safe. Somewhere safe. Somewhere safe. Somewhere safe._ The words chanted loudly in her mind and mixed with the sound of her shoes slapping the ground and her panting breath as she searched for somewhere she could run to escape the fight. She couldn't just run out of the ring again, she'd just be sent back in. None of the students would help her… not that she wanted their help. _Somewhere safe. Somewhere safe._ She pivoted her head a fraction when a black mass caught her eye, Lord Death standing by the sidelines.

_Somewhere safe. Somewhere safe. Someone safe. Someone safe. Someone safe._ She let her head lead her body and turned abruptly, flying towards one of the only people she recognized and the only person here that her father trusted. If her father trusted him, she could too.

A mass of white and gray and green jumped in her path, stopping her in her tracks with an electrically-charged clothesline tackle.

Makaria gagged painfully, her throat constricting and any trace amounts of air leaving her lungs.

She heard a horrible gasping noise and only afterwards realized it was her making that sound.

Her mouth was open in a mix of shock and trying to get oxygen.

Her eyes were screwed shut.

Gods, that hurt!

She heard the buzz of electricity hum in her ear and her eyes shot open, Stein leaning over her with his hand crackling again.

More adrenaline flooded her system and she clamored back on her elbows, using her feet to propel her back. Gaining just enough ground, she rolled backwards and rose to her feet, never losing sight of the professor for more than a split second.

_Someone safe. Someone safe. Someone safe._ She could feel her body trembling. Her eyes were fighting to hold back tears so her vision wouldn't get blurred as it sent only flashes to her mind, as if she was witnessing everything in a steady stream of pictures. Her throat was tightening up. Her breath was too quick and uneven to give any nutrients to her body. Her head was buzzing and her cheeks felt hot. Her pulsing vision narrowed onto Lord Death, everything around him becoming blurry and dark. _Someone safe. Someone safe. Someone safe. Safe. Safe. Safe!_

She ran again, trying every which way to dodge Stein and run around him. But he persisted in blocking her every time.

Her panic rose. She was trapped.

Her brain couldn't focus anymore, too drugged up on the adrenaline and too noisy with the chanting and the panting and the utter fear.

She couldn't remember the last time she felt like this.

Stein was running at her again, seeing the pause as an opening.

Makaria ran towards him as well, diving at the last moment to the side and landing on her hands and knees. She was up and sprinting again, her legs working faster than she ever thought they could, she felt the fear well up further when she felt her legs almost stumble; going so fast that they could barely catch up with the speed she was propelling herself at.

The barest of finger brushes against her back and she was gone.

_Someone safe! Someonesafe. Someonesafesomeonesafesomeonesafesomeonesafesomeonesafe!_

She barreled into the large black cloak with open arms, falling into it and grasping the soft fabric as if it were a lifeline.

There was silence. And she found safety in it. The world was dead to her. And that was just the way she liked it.

Nobody knew how to react.

Sure, it was amusing the first time she ran.

It was even amusing at the beginning of the second round, the girl darting around like a bird trapped inside a house.

But something changed.

Maybe it was the look in her eyes.

Maybe it was just the way she acted. She didn't want to be there. She hadn't asked to be in that situation. She never wanted to fight.

An air of somberness and seriousness devoted itself to the area and settled over all the witnesses as they watched Lord Death gently pick the girl up and let her curl herself into his cloak once again.

"I'll have a chat with her." Was all he said in his bubbly voice before he turned and bounced gently into the school, leaving everyone to question what they had just done exactly.


	4. Chats over Tea

**Chapter 4: Chats over Tea**

* * *

As he sat he could feel her trembling in his arms, and it wasn't from crying either. As far as he could tell, she wasn't crying at all.

She had been hyperventilating during the trip up to his room but now, with enough time to calm down and him gently shushing and reassuring her, the excess breathing had (slowly but surely) calmed to normal. However, she continued to shake almost violently.

Death, perched on the edge of the stage, slowly shifted and set the girl next to him on the white surface. Without a word she curled back into the black fabric and continued on with her trembling, a single low moan escaping her unseeable lips.

The moments turned into long minutes which slowly morphed into a long period of silence.

Had she fallen asleep?

Lord Death shifted his weight and moved to gently pull his cloak free from the girl. The act resulted in Makaria instinctively gathering more of it into her clutches and holding on tight.

"Makaria," He laid a hand on the small curled figure, trying to rouse her. "Hey, kiddo, do you wanna sit up and talk?"

She lay still for a moment longer before slowly releasing her grip on the black fabric and pulling herself sluggishly into a shy sitting position and wringing her hands, staring off into the graveyard to avoid looking at the death god who was studying her carefully.

She was normally as pale as her father, if not paler. But now her face was flushed with the lightest pink tint. She swayed a little bit; her eyes glazed over and tired.

She panted through barely parted lips before inhaling deeply through her nose and refocusing her vision slightly.

"I don't feel good." Her words slurred together just enough to make her swaying seem a little more serious.

"Do you want some water?" The reaper offered, knowing that this would be a situation to handle carefully.

A shake of the head signaled a 'no'.

Her eyebrows slowly furrowed in confusion, eyes refocusing and taking in the room around her.

"You're in the death room." Lord Death explained, the pep in his voice increasing to his normal levels as she came out of the residual effects of her panic attack.

"Yeah. I can see that." The voice wasn't as snappy as he would have expected for a sentence like that. It was closer to her just affirming that she heard him. "But everything… looks… weird."

"Oh?" He bounced closer to her by just a few centimeters, able to be more playful now that he didn't have to worry about the safety of his student.

"Yeah." She continued to look around, not even noticing his lack of personal space. "Like… all the colors… drained out've it."

"Ah." Death nodded sagely and looked out over the cemetery before reassuring the young girl once again. "It won't last."

Lord Death wordlessly summoned a tea table with cushioned chairs into the background. After waiting a few more minutes to affirm that her symptoms were actually fading, he spoke once again, hoping to at least distract her from whatever was bothering her. "Come on, kiddo, let's sit and chat."

Makaria glanced at him innocently, gave a quick once-over at the set up behind them, and looked back over the graveyard for a moment before nodding in agreement.

Lord Death bounced easily to his feet while the child tucked her feet under her and stood with a mildly surprising amount of grace.

The reaper led them over to the table and pulled one of the chairs out for Makaria before seating himself. The teen nodded her thanks and scooted up to the cloth-covered table, silently taking in the steaming teapot and porcelain cups, cookies and biscuits, small bowls of sugar, and a small pot that she thought was most likely devoted to milk (if she remembered anything about the single, awkward tea-party she'd had with her mother several years ago).

"Tea?" The female wasn't sure of exactly how Death was able to pick up the teapot with his hands being as large as they were, but he did, and proceeded (after a shrug and brief nod from her) to pour the brown liquid into the pair of small cups without a drop being spilt.

"Thanks." Makaria stared at it, not sure if she should taste it first to be polite or if she could just start adding sugar without being judged. She glanced at Death for reassurance.

"Drink! Drink! It's good!" He nodded.

Slowly she brought the brown liquid to her lips and took a small drink, trying not to grimace at the taste. It was just blandly flavored water. Gross. How exactly was this considered _good_?

The death room continued to sit in silence as the girl reached for the sugar and wordlessly started to pile heap after sugary heap into her cup, sipping it again only after several spoonfuls had been added.

"Cream?" Lord Death held up the cream pot to bring to her attention. Instead of answering, however, she settled on giving him a confused but bemused look, eyes narrowed with as an almost sly smile stretched her lips.

"What?" The reaper tilted his head to the side, provoking the small smile adorning the girl's face to grow.

"You're just... interesting." Her expression stayed the same but her eyes twinkled more, the light catching her eyes and extracting the silver highlights and lowlights that were difficult to see at most times.

"Oh?" He realized he was still holding the cream up and lowered it to the table.

"I've heard stories about you from Dad but… I never expected you to be so…" She searched for the right word while swallowing. "Childish? Fatherly?"

"Well, that's for the other kiddos." Lord Death clapped his hands softly together. "Don't' wanna be scaring 'em now, do I?"

"Yeah." The smile disappeared along with the color in her eyes, gaze reverting back to the steaming tea in front of her.

"So, I wanted to ask you; what's on your mind?" Lord Death fiddled with his tea cup for a moment, his vision never leaving her.

A deep sigh was his answer, the young teen leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms across her chest.

"I'm… confused. Worried." Another, softer, sigh came after this confession, eyebrows furrowed in thoughts she wasn't expressing.

"Oh?" A head cock and one simple word spurred her to continue.

"I don't know why Dad sent me here." Her eyes rose up to meet his mask. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No! No!" Death waved his hands in a hope to dissipate her worry. "You're a meister, that's all. We just wanted you to learn how to fight."

"But I don't _want_ to fight!" Her voice now rose in volume with the faintest edge of a panic deep inside. "And I don't even have a weapon. How am I supposed to fight without a weapon? So far I've only seen Professor Stein able to do that… and he's been training for years!"

"We'll find you a weapon, Makaria. It takes time though. We have to find someone you're compatible with."

A long pause filled the room as she took this tidbit of information in, digesting it slowly with a sip of her almost unbearably sweet tea.

"Do you think my dad loves me?" The question was abrupt and unexpected. But sincere. The man could see that the child was posing this quarry to him in all seriousness… and that concerned him.

"Do you think he doesn't?" His voice was more serious as his head tilted to the side.

No reply.

She opened her mouth but no sound came out. She swallowed stiffly and stoned her face, tears threatening to flood her eyes if she continued that thought process.

"Yes." Lord Death stared at her, seeing not a student but a helpless young girl who had no idea what she could do as her world crumbled around her. "Yes, Makaria, I think he loves you very much."

One tear. It slid slowly down her right cheek, its sibling slipping out of her other eye soon after. Then another. Then one more. And then the dam broke.

Lord Death skirted around the table hastily, patting her shoulders and wondering how exactly he could cheer her up. "There, there. You're alright."

"H-he- he left me. Alone!" She sniffled and tried to maintain her crying to a reasonable level, as her father always taught her to do. It wasn't working. Was this why he left her here? He was disappointed in her? Was she a disappointment to him? "I can't fight! I don't have any friends! I don't belong here. And he wouldn't l- li- listen to me!"

"You'll _learn_ to fight. You'll _make_ friends. You belong here, kiddo. It'll get easier." He rubbed her back in soothing circles, hoping that the close contact wouldn't bother her more. At first, her crying increased, causing him to believe that he was doing more harm than good. But, slowly, her weeping subsided into sniffles and hiccups.

A box of tissues appeared in front of them on the tea table, quickly snatched up by the girl gratefully and put to work cleaning her face up.

"S- s- sorr-" Her shutter-y breaths and hiccups withheld her voice. "Sorry."

"Quite alright." He bounced a little in his spot before moving back around the table and sitting opposite of her again.

The tea was drained in one gulp, calming the girl further despite the amount of sugar pumping through her veins.

Lord Death picked up the teapot again to pour her another glass but quit the action when the girl shook her head vigorously against the idea of more.

"I- uh…" Her swollen eyes trailed off to the side, recalling what she wanted. "I wanted to ask you about something."

"Yes?" The large hands clapped together in anticipation.

"I checked with my apartment and they didn't have an answer. I wanted to ask you." She beat around a vague bush.

"Ask me what?" The hands stayed together.

"I was wondering if I could have a… _pet_." The word '_pet_' came out slowly, word obviously chosen in a careful selection over another.

"A pet?" Lord Death clarified, earning a slow and cautious nod that prompted him to continue. "What kind of pet?"

"A… dog? Of sorts…" Her voice trailed off quickly, eyes shifting to the various objects on the white table.

"A dog." The reaper almost felt surprised at the simple request. It seemed like a logical move considering how lonely she was feeling, and now with these thoughts of abandonment coming up, a dog was a good companion. But there was something about her request that seemed off. He would need to dig a little more.

"Do you have a certain breed in mind?" The shovel hit the dirt.

"Not… no, not really." She swallowed.

"Do you already have a dog picked out?" A spark in her eyes signaled that the shovel had hit something solid. Now to carefully remove it.

"Yeah." Her voice rose in pitch, nervousness settling in over her still red and swollen face.

"And who is this dog?"

"Um…" She glanced at him once before looking at him sheepishly and shrugging her shoulders. "Cerberus?"

It was Lord Death's turn to be quiet. His head tilting slowly to the side being the only evidence that he hadn't frozen.

"Would your father be okay with that?"

"I… think so." She nodded slowly at first but the nodding picked up speed. "Yes."

"I'll think about it." Lord Death nodded along with her, pleased by the small light of hope in her eyes. It brightened her face, allowing him to forget about her crying spell moments ago.

He thought about shifting topics to something more light-hearted but upon seeing her eyes droop slightly, her body visibly worn out by the exhausting day, he decided that it was time to wrap up their visit.

"Alrighty, kiddo," He clapped his hands together and the table disappeared. "I think you should run along home and take a nap. You look tired."

"Yeah. That sounds nice." She smiled lightly at the thought.

"And I'll talk to you later about Cerberus." Lord Death bounced toward the center of the stage as the girl walked slowly off, pants legs hanging at uneven angles due to the rips in them from the fight. "And I'll check in on you and monitor your progress in class."

"Thanks." Makaria waved back to him from under the guillotine arches, disappearing from few a moments before the doors sounded their closing, leaving Lord Death alone to get back to work.


	5. Strangers on the Street

**Chapter 5: Strangers on the Street**

* * *

It was a bright Thursday. The sun was lazy that day and, while still shining brightly, let off little heat, causing the day to be an unusual seventy degrees- a sure sign that fall was coming up quickly and bringing cooler temperatures with it.

The rich blue sky with puffy white clouds inside the death room almost perfectly matched the sky outside, letting Lord Death feel comfortable while filling out paperwork- a mindless and somehow easing task in that it didn't require a lot of energy or thought to do.

A series of knocks came fading into the room and Death looked up toward the arches, "Come in!"

The paperwork and desk disappeared from sight and the cloaked figure bounced to his feet and skipped around the stage to see who was coming down the hall.

"Hey, Kiddo!" Lord Death clapped at his approaching son, glad to see the serious and sometimes odd child. "How are you today?"

"I'm fine, father. Thank you." The black-haired teen stood with his hands clasped behind his back. Liz and Patty weren't there.

"What can I do for ya? Huh?" The reaper bounced happily.

"I wanted to talk to you about the new student." The child's formal tone was never lost on the adult and the reaper often found himself wondering how formal his kid was around other students.

"Oh?" Lord Death's upper half tilted to the side in a manner only he could pull off.

"I wanted to know your reasons for bringing her here." Kid straightened up further, staring up at his father's mask.

"Well, Kiddo, she's a meister. And I want to give every meister a chance to learn."

"But shouldn't they _want _to learn?" Kid's eyes were sharp.

"What'd'ya mean?" Lord Death's bouncing slowed to a minimum.

"Father, this girl, she hasn't been… involved with the class. She hasn't been trying to fight. She hasn't even been social with any of our classmates." Kid sighed softly, glare starting to form as he grew more aggravated at the very thought of the fellow teen.

"But," Lord Death raised a finger to interject into the argument. "She is shy, Kiddo. She doesn't like fighting. And, by what Stein tells me, you guys haven't exactly welcomed her into the class yet."

Kid stared at his father, eyes widening slightly as if these facts were just now being brought to his attention.

"Have you tried to make friends with her, Kiddo?" The reaper asked softly, bouncing closer to the child.

"On the first day." Kid nodded.

"And on the second?" Lord Death waited for a nod but instead received a head shake, the child's eyes drifting down to the floor.

"Has anyone talked to her since Monday?" Death watched the boy and saw another 'no'. "Do you think that could be the problem? She doesn't feel welcome?"

Kid looked back up at him, waiting for his father to give him a solution to the problem.

"She's a shy kid, son. She's a new kid in a new place and she doesn't have anybody to talk to." Death explained. "Maybe _you_ could help her feel welcome."

"Me?" Kid's eyebrows raised in surprise and disbelief.

Silence was his answer.

"I don't-" Kid cut himself off and took a deep breath before trying again. "I'm not sure that would be a good idea, father."

"Oh?" Lord Death cocked his head to the side.

"I don't like her, sir." Kid clarified. "I don't believe I would be the best option."

"You don't know her, Kiddo. How can you form an opinion of someone if you haven't gotten to know them yet?"

Kid opened and shut his mouth several times before coming up with an answer. "I still see her in class. I know what she's like."

"And what is she like?" Lord Death hopped a bit, simply wanting to move around the stage.

"She's lazy. She's a coward. She's difficult. She's… creepy." The boy listed her perceived faults, glaring at his father as he ticked them off with his fingers.

"I think you need to get to know her, Kiddo." Lord Death said resolutely. "I think if you get to know her, you'd see that your assessment of her isn't right."

Kid's eyes were back on the floor.

"Just try to be her friend. It'll be hard at first, yes. But she'll open up to you." The reaper instructed seriously, getting a stiff nod in return.

"I must be going." Kid turned around after a tight bow and walked directly out of the room, slightly let down that he hadn't gotten any of the responses he was hoping for when he had originally come.

"See ya later, Kiddo! Have a great day!" Death waved to the retreating form, desk and paperwork popping back into existence in the background.

The next day was blazing hot, the heat practically threatening to send everything up in flames. The buzz of the cicadas roared in the air like a broken lawn mower. Everyone was thankful that the school had air conditioning.

Kid worked on taking notes on the professor's lesson, glancing occasionally at his dark-brown haired neighbor.

His father's words echoed in his head but he intently ignored them. And ignored her.

It wasn't until late that night that Kid regretted his decision to disobey his father's suggestion.

* * *

Saturday was almost exactly the same as Thursday had been, perfect temperatures and beautiful skies tempting the residents of Death City to leave their homes and play outside.

Kid spent the day reading, sitting in a hammock under the shade of a tree in his backyard.

At least, that's what he would've _liked_ to have happened. Unfortunately, the teen reaper's mind was elsewhere while his held his book gently.

He wanted to apologize to Makaria for his behavior. He had been rude that whole last week and there was no excuse for it.

Kid felt a sigh escape his chest, eyes flickering over to the birdbath, where two identical-looking birds sat perfectly opposite of each other on the cement platform, splashing around in the water happily.

The symmetry made him smile and when he finally decided to go back inside, he got up slowly from the hanging space, not wanting to scare away the small creatures.

Still careful not to frighten the birds, Death the Kid entered his house and put the book away on its proper bookshelf.

"Hey, Kid," Liz approached him from the kitchen.

"Hmm?" The younger teen raised his eyebrows, eyes still scanning the shelves for another book to start.

"There's not a lot of food in the kitchen. Do you think we could go out for dinner tonight?"

Kid looked across the room at the large, chestnut stained, grandfather clock. It was six o'clock exactly.

"I'm sorry. I lost track of the time." Kid looked back to Liz and saw that Patty had joined her. "Where do you want to go?"

"Pizza!" Patty cheered, bouncing around the room with her hands in the air, a giant smile across her face as she giggled.

"Sounds good to me." Liz shrugged, looking to Kid for his approval of the dinner idea.

Kid nodded in agreement, watching the pair cheer and run up to their room to change their outfits. He waited patiently, smoothing his open black button-up and blue t-shirt underneath absentmindedly.

"Ready!" Patty skipped down the stairs a few steps ahead of her taller sister, smile still on her face.

"Alright." Kid smiled back, opening the front door for his weapons and following them out.

The trio walked slowly though the streets of the city, taking their time to reach their favorite pizzeria.

Kid observed the happy citizens of his father's town, the bright blue sky, the clean gray stone roads, and the shy and familiar classmate passing him. He stopped, turning around to make sure he was seeing correctly.

The dark brown hair brushed against her shoulders, light purple polo shirt and black slacks wrinkled from the informality of a relaxed day.

"Excuse me? Makaria?" Kid called after her, halting her in her tracks and similarly alerting his weapons that he had stopped walking behind them.

The girl turned around, hair momentarily brushed out of her face and revealing her white-gray eyes as she acknowledged the boy warily.

"Hey." Kid waved awkwardly and the action ended abruptly. _Do I deserve to wave at her? After how I've treated her? _He waited to see what she would do.

Slowly, and after a few long seconds of her continuing to watch him carefully, she raised her hand and returned the short wave.

The male felt his weapons return to his side but they said nothing to the girl.

"How, um, how are you?" He offered, still feeling like he really shouldn't be talking to her. His father's words reminded him to do it whether he liked it or not though.

"I'm alright." Her voice was small, the sound betraying that she was more cautious of him that her eyes had let on. "You?"

"Yeah." Most of him just instinctually agreed as someone would when trying to end a conversation as quickly as possible. Something deep inside of him though was almost surprised by her asking about him, past observations deeming her to be insensitive and uncaring.

Makaria gave a single stiff nod, eyes shifting down to the road. She waited a few more seconds to see if Kid had anything else to say before turning and starting to walk again.

"Wait!" The young teen called after her, stopping her once again. What was he doing?

Her shoulders were almost at her ears, body tensing as she didn't know what to expect to come next.

"I'm going to dinner with my weapons. Do you want to come?" Kid heard the words as if they came from another person but recognized the voice as his own.

The teens stared at each other in confusion, neither sure of how to react to what was just asked.

Liz and Patty tightened up behind him, not expecting what had just happened. Kid didn't like this student. What was he doing?

"Um- I'm not- I don't really…" The girl's voice kept cutting off and finally she just settled to stare at the young reaper, eyes flickering up to him before quickly fluttering back to the ground or buildings around them.

"We're going to a local pizzeria. Do you… do you know what pizza is?" Kid realized that he knew absolutely no skills of how to interact with this girl- that he had no information about her.

"I've… heard of it." Makaria shrugged.

"You haven't had pizza?!" Patty's voice cried out from behind the pair, the young teen rushing forward to stand next to her meister.

"I- um-" Makaria was taken aback by the sudden outburst and leaned away from the trio uncomfortably.

"Well, that settles it, you _have_ to come." Liz agreed with her younger sister.

The new student's brow furrowed and she opened her mouth to argue.

"Come on, it won't hurt." Liz encouraged. "It'll be fun."

Makaria's mouth shut into a hard line as she weighed her options. There was silence between the four of them. Finally, with much hesitation, her head motioned a nod.

"Yay!" Patty giggled and ran ahead of the group again, leading them on. They walked in a staggered formation; Liz closest to her sister who kept running ahead, Kid trying to keep an eye on his weapons while leaving himself open to approach if Makaria wanted to, and Makaria picking up the end of the line as she followed the three cautiously through the streets of Death City.


	6. Things that go

**Chapter 6: Things that go…**

* * *

The bell above the door sang out as the group entered the quaint brick building, the peaceful and warm atmosphere swallowing them up and inviting them further in.

_'__Please: Seat Yourselves.'_ The neatly printed sign stood on a post near the door.

The group glanced around for the best seats and, when realizing that the restaurant was empty, took it upon themselves to take a booth in front of one of the four large windows that lit the meager area during the day.

No sooner had they sat down than a short, stout man old man with wispy white hair appeared from behind the counter.

"Good afternoon, you three." The man smiled at the group, finally looking at Makaria. "Ah, I see you've brought a guest this time."

"Mr. Polli." Kid nodded his head in greeting while Patty giggled, entertained by a fly on the window. "This is Makaria."

"Makaria." The man repeated, his smile deepening and exposing his sharp canine teeth.

The girl in question leaned away from the man uncomfortably, her glaring eyes never leaving his.

"It's nice to meet you." The man grinned welcomingly and waited for a reply but when none came he simply sighed to himself and pulled a small pad of paper from his apron. "Well, what can I get for your drinks?"

The group awkwardly ordered, feeling embarrassed by their company.

Silence followed; Patty still distracted by the fly, Liz and Kid communicating silently with eye directions and head shakes about what to do with their guest, and Makaria staring at the table with a thoughtful, far-off stare.

The man came back with the same smile, setting the drinks down along with a paper and box of crayons for the younger of the two Thompson sisters.

"And do you know what you want to order?" The pad of paper and pencil came back out gracefully.

"Could we have what we usually order?" Kid watched as Patty tore the box of colored wax open and began spreading the colors haphazardly across the paper with a bright smile.

Glancing up to see his answer, Kid saw the man's face faltered ever so slightly before his smile was back to normal, making Kid question if he had even seen such an expression on the man's face.

"Of course." The elder nodded happily, walking behind the counter and disappearing through the door of the kitchen.

"Makaria…?" Kid looked over at the brunette after further prompting from Liz.

The girl slowly zoned back in and looked over to the boy sitting beside her. "Yes?"

"Why did you look at Mr. Polli like that when he was trying to greet you?" The boy tried not to sound accusing or frustrated, watching her calmly for a reaction.

"He looks dead." Makaria's eyebrows furrowed in thought again, looking at the table before back at him. "His eyes looked dead."

"They looked fine to me." Liz threw into the conversation, taking a sip of her water.

"But…" The newer student huffed. "He didn't look right."

Kid tried to think of anything that was different about the man than usual. His smile seemed more… predatory. That was different. And he _had_ faltered when Kid asked him for something that was common by that point as a customer.

"Didn't you feel it?" Kid realized that the girl had asked him a direct question and stared at her.

"Something might be wrong. Yes." Kid frowned. The man also usually stood around to chat for much longer than he had. It was usually next to impossible to get the man to stop conversing and start making their food. This time the man did none of his normal mannerisms. "But I just saw Mr. Polli last week. He was fine."

"Are you sure _that's_ Mr. Polli?" The question was quiet enough that only Kid and Liz heard it, Patty still distracted by her drawing.

The young reaper-to-be wanted to say yes. To deny that something was wrong and simply wait for the elderly man to reappear from the kitchen and clear all of these suspicions up. To be angry that this new student could even suggest something like that- after having been invited out for dinner even. But the doubt and growing knot of unease that was settled in the boy's chest was too much to ignore.

A crashing _bang_ from the kitchen made the four jump and look toward the kitchen, now dark and silent.

"Lets go." Liz stood from the booth and waited for Patty to pull herself out behind her.

"Look! It's a giraffe!" The young girl giggled and held up the paper with yellow squiggly lines all over it.

"That's awesome, Patty. But right now we need to leave." Liz patted her sister on the head while throwing Kid a nervous glance before looking toward the kitchen.

The four tiptoed toward the door and held their breath to listen for movement from the back room before opening the door.

The bell chimed above them.

The group clamored out the exit as swiftly as they could, setting a fast-paced walk away from the small brick building.

"We can go to my house. I'll contact my father and let him know what's happening." Kid stared at the sky, sun starting to set and make the blue color morph into brilliant pinks and oranges.

"I think my apartment is closer." Makaria's shy voice drifted up from beside the young teen. "It's only a few blocks away."

If not for their senses being on high alert from nervousness, they would have missed the sound of a bell tinkling behind them.

The group, trying not to let on that they heard the alarm, quietly quickened their pace and followed the dark-haired female through the streets of Death City.

"Where _are_ you youngsters going?" The familiar voice from before spoke softly behind them, making chills run down Kid's back and Makaria to nearly jump out of her skin.

Kid refused to turn around, a deep cold ache of fear starting to grow in the pit of his stomach. "Makaria forgot her sweater at her apartment. She's new to the city and didn't know her way. We're accompanying her." The lie rolled off his tongue with more ease than he thought it would but it was still stutter-y and halting and nervous enough to sound suspicious to even the most trusting character.

"All of you?" The man's voice sounded amused by Kid's excuse but still remained a high whisper, as if the man was right behind him. The thought made the hair on the reaper's neck stand up even further than it already was.

"Yeah. We just figured… why not?" Kid spoke for the group once again. "I mean, we figured that we might as well all go since it'll take a little while for the pizza to be made. And it's such a nice day."

"Well, perhaps I should accompany you. After all, this city is much too large for four children to be wandering alone without an adult to supervise." Mr. Polli spoke again, his voice- now starting to sound vaguely unfamiliar, growing in power and authority. The stout man with curly hair came from behind and placed himself between Kid and Makaria, hooking his arms through theirs and drawing them in close.

"I assure you, we're perfectly fine." Kid stiffened at the touch, another shudder passing though his spine as he realized that Makaria had been correct; his eyes were fogged over.

"Nonsense! Danger around every corner, monsters waiting in the shadows- I would feel awful if I let you go off on your own and then you got hurt. It would be my fault." The man looked at the other male seriously before his face broke into a smile and he turned to look at Makaria. "Besides! I want to get to know this lovely young lady some more."

The elder pulled them forward with more strength than he should have possessed.

"I- uh-" Makaria spoke for the first time and quickly shut her mouth, being tugged along unexpectedly and not sure how to handle the situation.

It took the four teens a moment to realize that the man was, in fact, going in the correct direction to the new girl's apartment. And that he seemed to know the path by heart.

"Sir?" Liz and Patty ran behind the trio, worried expressions directed toward their meisters predicament. (A predicament in which they weren't exactly sure of what was going on but knew that it wasn't good.)

"Sir?" Liz tried again, huffing when she was once again ignored as if she wasn't even there.

Their fear grew as the man's grip tightened on their arms, his eyes growing more glazed and smile widening. No attempt at small talk was made in the girl's direction, instead the pizza shop owner seemed content to focus on getting them to the apartment he somehow knew the location of.

As the group rounded a street corner, decorated with a flower pot filled with annual flowers that were reaching the end of their lives, Makaria's apartment came into view.

It was a simple cream washed building, several stories high, that had various random colors blotched in along different parts of the many apartments; blues, greens, a pink here and there to add variety.

Overall, it seemed to be a nice apartment in a reasonably quiet and sparsely populated section of Death City.

"Well, here we are." Makaria tittered nervously, still trying to pull her arm gently from the elder's grip.

"Thank you again, Mr. Polli, for the walk home." Liz smiled as best she could, although it could be described as little more than an uneven spasm of muscles around her mouth.

"Yeah! See ya later." Patty giggled innocently, almost appearing as if she hadn't picked up on the man's suspicious behavior.

"_Later_?" The hair with feathery white hair ticked to the side, catching her wording, and turned to look straight into Makaria's eyes, catching her off guard. "But I thought you were just grabbing a sweater."

"I- I was." Makaria nodded. "But… but I… I changed my mind." She caught Kid's eye and started nodding, the group quickly nodding together. "I guess I'm just tired from all the excitement."

"Hm." The elder seemed disappointed.

"Well, thanks for walking us back to my place. We'll see you later, sir." Makaria unlocked the front door to the apartment building and allowed the other three teens to slip in at the same time as her before pushing the door shut with one last hesitant smile.

"No, no, no, no." A foot in the door blocked their means of shutting him out, a hand pushing the door back open from outside. "I think we should keep talking. I mean, this is fun."

"We really wouldn't want you to miss any customers." Kid moved down the single step he had ascended and took to helping Makaria push the door closed.

"I won't miss anyone." The certainty in his voice invoked fear from all four of the young teenagers standing in the apartment building entrance hallway.

"We're fine!" Makaria's voice grew higher and she strained with Kid for several more seconds against the all-too-strong elder before the door finally clicked into place.

They caught their breath and took a second to indulge in a grin to each other in thanks for their hard work, Liz and Patty breathing a sigh of relief and all willing their hearts to calm down from the terror they had just experienced.

A shriek of surprise and horror filled the air almost immediately after the shattering sound of glass breaking, a monster ripping through the door like paper and tearing the remainder from the hinges as it glared at the four children.

"Liz! Patty!" Kid called out with authority, glaring at the kishen egg that had suddenly appeared in Mr. Polli's place.

"Right!" The twins answered and transformed with the same amount of determination their meisters face held.

"Makaria, go. Now." Kid ordered the thin, terrified girl beside him, catching his guns and aiming them at the monster.

Without his order needing repeating, the girl fled desperately up the steps toward her apartment, screaming at what followed.


	7. Bump in the Night

**Chapter 7: … Bump in the Night**

* * *

The yelp that escaped Makaria's lips as she darted up the stairs towards her apartment came from both the loud gunfire given off by Kid's weapons and a sudden _thud_ that shook the stairs violently and caused her to trip, clutching the banister for balance.

_Don't look back! Don't look back!_ She looked back.

Still hugging the rail for dear life she was terrified to see that whatever _thud_ had just occurred was not, in fact, the monster dying. If she had to guess- in the few seconds she had to stare at the scene below her- she would say that the thud had merely been someone being thrown against a wall. Although she didn't want to think about whom exactly that was.

Catching the clown-like creature's attention and meeting its eye, panic sent her on the move again, bustling up the steps as fast as her trembling legs would let her.

She heard more gunfire and a cry of shock as she flew to her door and fumbled with the lock.

Where was her key? She'd had it with her before.

Movement caught her eye and she looked towards the steps to see the kishen egg moving slowly up the stairs.

Key: Front left pocket.

She ripped it from her black pants and, after several times of trying to jam the key into the lock (each more panicked as the monster progressed towards her), was finally able to open her apartment door and slammed it behind her- locking it back up with the innocent hope that it would somehow stop the creepy clown.

She backed away from the door anyway, not sure what to do or expect in this situation.

Her mind was racing a mile a minute but no coherent thoughts or logic was getting through, the feeling reminding her of her fight with the teacher earlier in the week.

_Bang!_ _Bang! _The door splintered helplessly under the attack from her intruder, ripping another shriek from her lips and sending her scurrying backwards.

Another figure ran into the room, stopping behind the creature and pointing something towards it.

It took the dark-haired female a moment to recognize the figure as Kid, bruises appearing on his face and a line of dark red trailing from his hairline down the side of his cheek to his jaw, where it dripped onto his jacket.

Pink light filled the room as Kid fired his guns, striking the monster repeatedly before it even seemed to notice his presence.

Makaria, seeing the chance, ran further into her apartment, locking herself in her bathroom and panting as the outside world became dreadfully quiet.

Was the fight over? Did Kid win? Or the monster?

A measured and heavy footstep ambled slowly past the bathroom, the large shadow passing under the door. After a moment of lurking, the character moved on down the narrow hall towards her bedroom, leaving her alone in the silence.

Careful not to make a sound, the teenager backed away from the door, slowly creeping though the small bathroom towards a window on the other side of the space. It wasn't huge, but maybe she could fit through it.

_Oh gods. Oh _gods_! Someone help me. Please! _

The footsteps returned faster than they had originally, stopping in front of the closed door in front of her and making her gasp in alarm.

The door pounded open with single loud _Bam!_ Revealing the kishen egg in the doorway.

Makaria backed herself against the window, the blinds crinkling behind her unheard, the pair staring at each other in heavy silence.

_Please! I don't want to die! Not like this! _

The kishen took a step forward, its approach slow as it knew it had won.

_Dad! Help me! Daddy!_

Another step closer, the creature's mouth was curving into a grotesque smile of sharp yellow teeth.

_Phobos, help me! I know you're here- you have to be! _

She could feel the monster's breath now, hot and sticky. It was musty and smelled of decay.

_Thanatos, don't let your sisters get me. I always wanted you to be there! Come on! Hypnos talk some sense into him! _

As the monster closed in, above all other pleadings and bargaining's, one thought came to the forefront of her mind: she would be having a _long_ talk with her father soon. She would give him hell for this.

Pink light flashed in before her eyes once more as Kid appeared behind the creature for a second time, firing at the monster enough to capture its attention before he ran down the hall toward her room, leading it away from the frightened girl.

Makaria stared, dazed, at the open doorway ahead of her, fog filling her mind and making her unsure of what to do next.

_Get out of there._

She wasn't sure if it was her voice or someone else's who told her the instructions but she put the words into actions carefully. She peaked out from her room, hearing the loud fighting going on just a room away but when no creature appeared in the hall, she took the chance to flee her now destroyed apartment- running down the torn up hall and half running half jumping down the demolished stairs, sprinting out of the building and running without a destination in mind.

Behind her, the battle raged on.

* * *

The word came to Lord Death a short while later, a frazzled-looking Liz calling him on her pocket mirror with a worried expression.

A quick explanation and mentioning of Kid being injured was all it took to coax Lord Death from the school and travel quickly, along with Stein, to the site of the battle with the kishen egg.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! What's up, kiddos?" Lord Death announced his presence before the three teens, the girls slowly trying to clean their battered meister up.

"We defeated a kishen egg that was after Makaria. I'm unsure of the reason but it seemed to be interested in her." Kid remained sitting, attesting to his injuries as he would normally never remain seated in front of his father. "It had several chances to kill me but instead it just fought me off and continued pursuing Makaria."

"Oh?" Lord Death bounced a little, surveying the extensive damage caused to the building. "That's interesting."

"Where _is_ Makaria?" Stein looked at the trio, his glasses flashing in the bright endings of the sunset.

"We donno." Patty shrugged, kicking at a piece of rubble beneath her feet.

"She ran away during the fight. We can't find her in the building so we figured she just ran off." Liz continued to pick glass and wood splinters from Kid's jacket.

"I see." Lord Death nodded, looking around with an oddly sagely air for him. "Stein, would you mind staying with them while I go look for Makaria?"

Steins glasses flashed, his head nodding slowly before turning his attention to checking Kid over for his injuries.

* * *

Death seemed to half wander through the city. He could pick up a sense of several strong souls but whoever they were, they were skilled at keeping themselves hidden.

He checked several places, feeling the strength of the mystery souls growing or fading depending on how close he was, before happening to spot a small park down the road from his latest investigation.

Growing closer, he could hear quiet and reassuring murmurs from a ring of benches off to one side of the dimly lit park.

"I think you need to accept your father's wishes." A man's voice, deep and calm, was the first one he heard clearly.

"He wants you to be here for a reason." Another voice, also male, piped in. His voice was equally deep but had a very kind tone to it, unlike the other voice which sounded colder.

"Hello!" Lord Death announced his presence and the three figures, all having their backs to him, whipped around defensively to take in the reaper's calm and happy demeanor- his blocky hands raised to show that he meant no harm.

"Lord Death." The man on the right- with the colder voice- spoke first, relaxing enough that Death felt it alright to approach.

The reaper bounced towards them and soon recognized Makaria as the middle figure, her dark hair messed from running and white eyes glowing from tears.

"We've been looking for you, dear." Death stopped in front of the group, taking the other two in carefully.

The brothers looked identical in features. Both had medium length hair and clean shaved faces, brown eyes twinkling in the minimal light given off by the lamp several lengths away. Both were tall, surpassing 6', and built muscularly.

"We just wanted to talk to Makaria about what happened. She seemed scared." The man on the left, his calm voice still soothing and calm, spoke with a light smile, resting his hand on her shoulder.

"_She_ wanted to talk to _us_, Hypnos." The other man corrected, glaring pointedly at his brother.

"Like you didn't care. Shame on you, Thanatos. She's dealt with enough tonight as it is." Hypnos squabbled back, drawing the young teen in closer to him.

"She needs to learn how to fight."

"On her own time."

"She needs to stop getting scared at every little thing."

"She hasn't been raised around violence. She's been raised in peace. How do you expect her to adapt so quickly?"

Lord Death looked down to Makaria, noticing the girl staring up at him fearfully.

"Is Kid okay?" Was the first thing she asked him, guilt welling up in her eyes and spilling down her cheeks when the reaper informed her that he had sustained minor injuries.

"But that's his job, kiddo." Lord Death guided her back to the bench where all four sat down around her, Hypnos and Death leaning in to comfort her while Thanatos sat back with a bored expression.

Makaria remained silent, everyone knowing that she was blaming herself for the incident.

"Where are you staying tonight?" The kinder of the twins spoke while the other continued to stare without interest.

"Um…" Makaria glanced at him before diverting her eyes to the ground, obviously trying to think of an answer. She knew her apartment wouldn't work for the night but where else could she go?

"You could stay at my place." Lord Death snapped and straightened up, the idea suddenly occurring to him. "I'm sure Kid would be alright with it and there's plenty of space."

"I don't think Kid would want me in the same house as him. He doesn't like me." The girl shook her head and rested her cheek against her fist.

"It's not that he doesn't like you. He doesn't know you yet." The reaper patted her on the back. "Alright? You wanna come, kiddo?"

Makaria gave a single nod, face giving away how depressed she felt.

"Well, we're always here if you need to talk." Hypnos spoke softly as the four of them stood up almost all at once.

The man on the right scoffed, receiving a glare from his brother to which he rolled his eyes.

"_I'll_ be here if you need to talk." Hypnos smiled kindly and ruffled the girl's hair. "Do you think you'll be able to sleep tonight?"

"Yeah." Makaria shrugged, eyes wandering around the pavement again.

"Alright. We'll see ya later than." The man nodded his thanks to Lord Death before walking off toward the shadows with his brother, soon out of sight.

Makaria stared after them painfully, already missing the tiresome twins.

"Come on, kiddo. Let's go." Lord Death placed a gloved hand on her shoulder and guided her in the direction of Death Mansion, ready to put this whole event behind them.


	8. Sleepless Ponderings

**Chapter 8: Sleepless Ponderings**

* * *

Hiking across the uneven and winding city to Death Mansion at Lord Death's side was a small feat compared to standing there while the man explained the situation to his son. A small feat compared to listening to Kid's silent protests, the only signs of him being upset were the short huffs and occasional eye-rolls, accompanied by the gradual tightening of his body as a whole, looking like a top; _wind it up and watch it go._

The quiet agreement to allow her to stay in the mansion felt like a blade in the heart and she wondered to herself if her ears could bleed based on the anger she heard in his voice or if her skin could melt based on the fury emitting from his thin body.

By far, Makaria decided as she crawled as silently as possible into the guest bed, the most awkward moment of the night- even more awkward that asking _Thanatos_ for help- was when Death had left to go back to the school. Kid had barely concealed all of his frustration and annoyance towards her as he led her up the stairs, far down the hall to one of the many guest bedrooms, and roughly pointed out the bathroom before begrudgingly wishing her a good night and shutting her into her room.

* * *

It wasn't like her to lie.

She made it a point _not_ to- ever since her father caught her in a lie and later confessed to her that it always disappointed him when she did things like that.

But she had lied tonight. And the scene kept playing over in her head.

_"__Do you think you'll be able to sleep tonight?" Hypnos' hand ruffled her hair playfully._

_ "__Yeah" She had answered with little hesitation and had even offered a small, reassuring smile._

There is no way, in the entire realm of the underworld, that she was going to get any sleep.

Every time she closed her eyes she could see that creature... that _clown_, looming over her, drawing nearer and nearer just waiting for its turn to strike.

She could hear its mechanical limbs clicking and thumping as they moved slowly, with purpose, towards her.

She could smell it; rotting; decayed; dead. It was a smell that was unnatural to her- one that set her on high alert. When she thought about it, her eyes shut tight in determination; she could almost place the smell.

She breathed in deeply, picturing the clown before her. She felt her eyes open but saw only the inky blackness of the room. It smelled similar to somewhere in the underworld. Somewhere she had been taken to as a young child- when her father had deemed her old enough to learn of the different realms. The fields of punishment. It had smelled of decay and sadness and evil and she had had nightmares about it for weeks after visiting the realm.

But the worst thing, the thing that really kept her up, even if she would have been able to get her mind away from the clown, was Kid. She remembered the sound of his body being thrown against the wall, his breath wheezing in and out. It sounded painful.

He didn't have any bruises when he had greeted his father at the door, she had noticed that once she had gathered the courage to look at his face. Maybe it was a special power that Lord Death and Kid had? She wasn't sure. But, whatever the reason was, she was grateful for it. She would have broken down had it been for seeing the boy who saved her life hurt. She didn't want him to be hurt. Or _anyone_ to be hurt. It was against her nature.

Thoughts of Rhadamanthus and the Elysian Fields slowly filled her mind; the fields covered in bright green grass and colorful, vibrant flowers; the sky a deep blue with the faintest wisps of white clouds trickling through the air overhead.

Her eyelids drooped down when she tried to open them, feeling heavy and comfortable over her eyes. Her body slowly relaxing into the bed she'd been given for the night.

She drifted off to sleep; a soft, deep voice rumbling in her ear as she filtered into her dreams.

"Silly child. You should have known that I'd keep my eye on you tonight. Get some rest. I'll check up on you soon." The young, clean-shaven man patted her head and gently brushed her dark hair out of her face before quietly exiting the room, climbing stealthily from the window to the rooftop to join his scowling twin.

"Can we go now?" Thanatos raised an eyebrow at his brother, letting off an air of annoyance and inconvenience.

"You were just as concerned about her as I was." Hypnos shot back pointedly, following his brother from the roof and down into the streets of the city.

Thanatos huffed in reply, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms tighter across his chest.

"And she's fine now, by the way. She's asleep." The man smirked, the smile turning smug when he saw Thanatos' head straighten up by a fraction, signaling his approval of the report.

"Well, what are we waiting for? We have better things to do than be the guard dogs for Hades kid." The grumpy brother huffed, disappearing into the shadows.

Hypnos cast one more glance back toward the window he'd just left before chuckling singularly to himself and shaking his head in amusement. _How Thanatos and Makaria have lived in any distance of each other for so long is beyond me._ And followed his brother into the shadows, drifting out of the town without another sound.


End file.
